Given the ongoing global skills shortages across most sectors, and with organisations struggling to find the talent needed to fill roles, it is clear that talent acquisition strategies are increasingly coming under the spotlight. With this in mind, how can hiring managers steal a march on their competitors and ensure that they have a greater probability of attracting top talent? One approach that has been gathering momentum with HR leaders for some time is skills-first hiring. Here’s why it is proving to be such an effective way of hiring and how it can boost business results.

A skills-first approach

As the name suggests, this strategic skills acquisition method means you’re hiring individuals purely based on their skills and aptitude to do the job, rather than their qualifications, previous experience and job titles. It’s a powerful concept and a ‘win win’ situation for both organisations and individuals alike. In the former’s case, it enables access to far larger talent pools, while for the latter group, it opens up a new world of employment opportunities for which they may have previously been excluded creating a more equitable approach to fulfilling organisational role requirements. And in today’s skills-short markets, organisations can ill afford to unintentionally rule out highly suitable candidates.

While it is of course absolutely crucial for individuals to possess the right attributes to fulfil the requirements of the role (and of course we need to take into account regulated roles for whom a certified ability to perform the role is a necessity), skills-first hiring considers other traits and qualities that demonstrate a person’s future potential and scope for development. As we know only too well, while technical skills can be taught and trained, it is more difficult to coach people in ‘soft’ skills such as tenacity, resilience, strong communication and stakeholder management. Organisations are fast realising that by being less prescriptive, they can unearth gems with the brightest future leadership potential.

Diverse talent to drive innovation and fuel growth

With the rise of digital transformation and the ever-increasing importance of generative AI in the workplace, organisations are reliant on agile, resilient individuals who can demonstrate high levels of adaptability. And as we’ve experienced with the turbulence of recent geopolitical events, thriving, and often just surviving, requires fast thinking and the courage to make decisions upon which an organisation’s very future may well depend. Adopting a skills-first approach will vastly increase the odds of getting the right people while avoiding the hefty costs of mis-hiring.

Plugging those skills gaps is not just about bringing in people from outside your organisation – or ‘buying’ talent. There are many existing employees who can also be upskilled or reskilled and redeployed into other roles. This is why companies need to have a holistic, total view of their talent, and understand where the gaps are now, where they may be in the future and how they can go about filling them internally. ‘Building’ from within and providing training and opportunities for growth and development will also ensure that workers remain engaged, thereby boosting productivity and fostering loyalty. There’s also the ‘Bot’ element of the Build or Buy discussion on talent – but that’s a separate article in itself. What is important to touch on, though, is that Bots – whether AI or screening tools – can be enablers of skills-first hiring (if programmed and managed correctly, of course).

Widening talent pools and relaxing often lengthy lists of ‘must-haves’ are surefire ways of boosting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) outcomes. Removing any form of hiring bias by ensuring you use gender neutral, inclusive language in job ads, for example, is critical in increasing applications from minority, under-represented groups, or those from non-traditional backgrounds who might otherwise have been overlooked. It is not just morally the right thing to do —  all the evidence conclusively tells us that diversity fosters innovation which in turn drives business performance.

A skills-first culture from the top down

To succeed with a skills-first approach, however, you not only need leadership buy-in, but also a robust framework that is embedded in organisational culture, ethos and policies. In order to win over the dissenting voices, the talent strategy must be inextricably linked to defined organisational outcomes. For example, the impact of investment in development and training must be measured and tracked. Making internal mobility processes more transparent and equitable will greatly boost employee satisfaction, all while enabling individuals to fulfil their potential by maximising their skillsets. In short how do you create the baseline for demonstrating ROI for the business when advocating a move to a significant change in business behaviours? I have lots of ideas on this one, again enough for another piece.

HR practitioners and hiring managers will need additional tools and training so that they can optimally assess against the skills criteria for each role, whether recruiting externally or redeploying existing staff. This will have a bearing on job descriptions, distinguishing between essential and desirable skill requirements, and eliminating formal degree or qualification pre-requisites where appropriate. Assessments will also require an element of redesign so that they are in line with the specific skills needed to succeed in the role, while also ensuring that they are inclusive and providing the necessary support for all.

Tackling tomorrow’s skills today

According to a recent survey that we conducted across EMEA, 44% of talent and hiring leaders said that skills shortages were their biggest priority for 2024 (only second to modernising their employer brand). Executives are concerned about the new jobs of tomorrow, which will demand expertise in areas such as green and renewable energy. As for the digital skills gap in emerging technologies such as GenAI, organisations will also need to adopt a long-term vision and scale up training capabilities while making sure that governance, ethics and other compliance considerations are met.

From an employee perspective, a skills-first hiring methodology will create a more level playing field where individuals are judged and assessed on their competencies, both technical and interpersonal, and their potential to develop, rather than their qualifications or previous job history. Taking a skills-first-based view on talent will bring down the barriers to entry into the workforce, opening doors for millions of individuals whose attributes are not being used through no fault of their own.

Organisations will require access to untapped global talent pools as well as upskilling their own workforces if they are to source the talent they need to grow and remain relevant in the fast-changing global economic landscape. A skills-first approach will not only enable them to do just that, but it will also have a positive effect on engagement, trust and employee retention as well as allowing them to enjoy the many business and brand benefits that a diverse workforce brings. The benefits, then, are clearly worth the investment for those that can successfully implement the change across the business. But HR needs to be the one to start everyone on that journey – guided by experts in the talent acquisition and management arena, of course.

Filling the funnel on a “skills-first basis” is just the beginning, the Change Management programme associated with coaching hiring managers into new ways of assessing candidates is a large part of the success of such a programme. To be continued ….